It's Time to Hit the Saudis With the Magnitsky Act

It's not limited to Russians. Freeze their assets and keep them out of the US.

by Anonymous

reply 87

10/17/2018

Hopefully Congress can do this without Trump. He's afraid of losing munitions business with them. Asshole.

by Anonymous

reply 1

10/11/2018

Yep. But never gonna happen.

by Anonymous

reply 2

10/11/2018

Will never happen with them being the largest counterweight to Iran in the MIddle East. They're a long-term house of cards anyway; they've almost squandered all of their oil wealth. They've been quietly trying to economize for a number of years. Soon, the Hadj will become one of their only income streams.

by Anonymous

reply 3

10/11/2018

Trump's lying about the $110 billion in arms sales. There is no such deal.

by Anonymous

reply 4

10/11/2018

Democrats must lead here.

by Anonymous

reply 5

10/11/2018

You think Congress, under either party, would actually do that to Saudi Arabia? Oil prices would go through the roof. Not to mention all the other companies that Saudi royals and nationals control. It would create a major economic incident. It is the same reason why the act will never be applied to China, even though their human rights record is just as bad or worse. Russia was an easier one, to target, because they are not as major of a player in the international economy, and even then the Act only applied to certain individuals and left most of the "Big" names off the list.

Not to mention that Saudi Arabia is a counterweight to Iran, and has begun to work with Israel.

by Anonymous

reply 6

10/11/2018

R6 Well you're right but it's about time that scenario was changed. There are so many levels of wrong with it.

by Anonymous

reply 7

10/11/2018

Magnitsky MBS and his buddies. All of them.

by Anonymous

reply 8

10/11/2018

The Saudis own congress and the White House. That’s why they felt so comfortable doing this. Even if. Khashoggi was an American citizen, they still would’ve killed him.

by Anonymous

reply 9

10/11/2018

Turks tell U.S. officials they have audio and video recordings that support conclusion Khashoggi was killed

The Turkish government has told U.S. officials that it has audio and video recordings that prove Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul this month, according to U.S. and Turkish officials.

The recordings show that a Saudi security team detained Khashoggi in the consulate after he walked in Oct. 2 to obtain an official document before his upcoming wedding, then killed him and dismembered his body, the officials said.

The audio recording in particular provides some of the most persuasive and gruesome evidence that the Saudi team is responsible for Khashoggi’s death, the officials said.

“The voice recording from inside the embassy lays out what happened to Jamal after he entered,” said one person with knowledge of the recording who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss highly sensitive intelligence.

“You can hear his voice and the voices of men speaking Arabic,” this person said. “You can hear how he was interrogated, tortured and then murdered.”

A second person briefed on the recording said men could be heard beating Khashoggi.

by Anonymous

reply 10

10/11/2018

Any peep about this from Hillary Kamala warren schumer?

by Anonymous

reply 11

10/11/2018

Not going to happen

by Anonymous

reply 12

10/11/2018

Some Saudis are very hot and you can let these guys in. They are majorly sexy .

by Anonymous

reply 13

10/11/2018

R11, there is no reason for Clinton to comment. She's not an elected official. I thought you guys wanted her to go away, anyway.

Sanders is gearing up for 2020. What's he saying?

by Anonymous

reply 14

10/11/2018

[quote]Not going to happen

[quote]—Clinton Foundation

Thank you, Assange.

by Anonymous

reply 15

10/11/2018

Clinton can post if she wants too. She is always welcome on DL

by Anonymous

reply 16

10/11/2018

why did they kill him? did he have info ?

by Anonymous

reply 17

10/11/2018

Russia hasn’t got anything much America wants. So it can be magnitskied till the cows come home. It doesn’t really matter.

But the Saudis on the other hand - way too many problems in sanctioning them. There’s the oil of course. And the labyrinthine financial ties the saudis in power have with the top echelons of money and power in the US. Plus the whole finely balanced house of cards that is Middle East geopolitics...

They’ll get away with it. Probably get a serious talking to. But they can push it much, much further before the west would retaliate in any meaningful way. Hell - my elderly Ukrainian grandfather is constantly ranting about how The West failed to come to Ukraine’s aid when Putin invaded Crimea. That was invasion of a sovereign state. You think killing a journalist even rates? (Oh - and there’s been three - or is it four now? - killings by Putin of inconvenient people this last week alone. And what can anyone do about that? It’s a tough world and life is cheap outside the insular American bubble!)

by Anonymous

reply 18

10/11/2018

r18 - you need to relax. You seem to be getting too worked up. Have you taken your meds?

by Anonymous

reply 19

10/11/2018

Maybe it’s time for a little retaliation. Saudi official on tape entering [somewhere]. Never seen again. Deny any responsibility in the face of blatant evidence. (Trump does that all the time.)

by Anonymous

reply 20

10/11/2018

Bomb Riyadh - this would get their attention.

by Anonymous

reply 21

10/12/2018

r3 is correct. Internally, Saudi Arabia is a mess. I've said this here before, but I think that the Saudis will take care of the MBS problem themselves-- once the king dies. Maybe with a little help from the CIA. The House of Saud does not tolerate kings who jeopardize their wealth (see King Saud, who was deposed and maybe also King Fahd, who was assassinated).

by Anonymous

reply 22

10/12/2018

Saudi Arabia is essentially tribal. Any tribe can step up beside the house of saud which itself is very young.

by Anonymous

reply 23

10/12/2018

It would surely cause an oil embargo. Remember the 1970s?

by Anonymous

reply 24

10/12/2018

The Saudis (and the Russians; and the Israelis) own Trump.

Trump’s not going to stand up to Americans being dismembered because it might interfere with his Condo sales and the money he “skims” from arms deals.

“You want to ‘expedite’ an weapons delivery - let’s your delegation and mine discuss over dinner and breakfast at a Trump property. “By the way, what hotel is your delegation staying at.”

by Anonymous

reply 25

10/12/2018

Obama probably wouldn't have done much about this either.

by Anonymous

reply 26

10/12/2018

^^^^ J. Kushner

by Anonymous

reply 27

10/12/2018

Everyone is pulling out of the finance summit in Riyadh this month. No tweet about this from the Twit or what?

by Anonymous

reply 28

10/12/2018

The Saudis were behind 9/11, everyone knows it, nothing was done about it. After murdering thousands of Americans in their own country hell yeah, they can kill individuals anywhere with impunity. They know it, we know it, everyone in the world knows it.

This is what is happening this time r29. Come out of the basement and try to keep up.

by Anonymous

reply 30

10/12/2018

Not withdrawing:

Despite #Khashoggi disappearance, Treasury Sec. Mnuchin tells CNBC he will still attend Saudi conference: "I am planning on going at this point. If more information comes out and changes we can look at that...Saudi has been a very good partner."

by Anonymous

reply 31

10/12/2018

Haha r31 the (grim) jokes on the Munchkin and the US 🤦‍♂️😂

by Anonymous

reply 32

10/12/2018

The Saudi family might be monsters but they are merely guarding bigger monster ; Islamic fanaticism. Their absolute control over the 2 holy city of Mecca and Medina gives them a huge influence within the billion plus Sunni Muslim community. Should they were removed ala Game of Thrones the kingdom will be instantly plunged into a civil war and dragging the entire Muslim world with it. So it is an American and western interest to keep the kingdom intact regardless of all the crazy shit they did.

by Anonymous

reply 33

10/12/2018

It's those white dresses they wear. Men are not supposed to wear dresses!

by Anonymous

reply 34

10/12/2018

by Anonymous

reply 35

10/12/2018

This is highly interesting even though I've never paid attention to Saudi politics. It's pretty confusing with all the half brother princes. Anyone know what the crown succession custom is? It's tribal and factional and all over the place it seems.

MbS will have to go if the dynasty is the retain power. Will he? He's a guy who kept his own mother under house arrest. His dad the king has Alzheimer's. MbS threw Mohammed out in a family coup in his incapacitated dad's name. A dangerous but dynamic man.

Can he be ousted? By whom? The king has many wives, and therefore there are many rivalrous half brothers. Who will step up? Will Mohammed who MbS ousted be able to come back? Obviously the sick king can't make the decision.

Will the US retain MbS or support another? Jared is pally with MbS being cut from the same cloth. They have deals going on so he can't afford to lose MbS as the power. A lot hinges on the US elections and Mueller I'd imagine.

Watch this space for a family coup or coup attempt.

by Anonymous

reply 36

10/12/2018

So why did they kill him? They must want something he knew to remain hidden.

by Anonymous

reply 37

10/12/2018

Remember they imprisoned a bunch of Sheiks and billionaires in 5 star hotels until they "returned" billions of dollars ?

Also a friend used to work in the middle east, it doesn't matter what the law or religion says...they do whatever the fuck they want, the drink, eat, and chase after women. My friend was blonde and quite pretty, she was followed by cars more than a few times.

by Anonymous

reply 38

10/12/2018

This investigation won't stop. Jamal comes from a very wealthy family. Jamal is cousin to Dodi Fayed, Princess Diana's boyfriend that died along with her in the limo crash. The irony is Jamal's uncle Adnan Khashoggi was a billionaire arms dealer with ties to the U.S. whose name came to fame during the Iran Contra scandal.

Jamal interviewed Bin Laden several times in the 80s and 90s and he was worked for Saudi intelligence services. He knew a lot especially regarding the Saudi royals and 9/11. He was a harsh critic of Wahhabism and was fired from several newspapers in Saudi Arabia for criticizing the clerics and Wahhabism. Jamal was fearful for his life in the past several years. He knew MBS was after him. MBS purged any Saudi royal that was critical of Trump notably Al Waleed Bin Talal who made harsh tweets about Donald Trump.

by Anonymous

reply 39

10/12/2018

Iran must be enjoying this. Israel must be worried and wondering how to turn this to its advantage. America must be online shopping.

by Anonymous

reply 40

10/12/2018

Trump has worked with Italian and Russian mafioso killers since the 70s so this Khashoggi hit means nothing to a guy like him. Trump only cares about the money of course.

Humanitarian principle is not in his lexicon.

Jared Kushner is also a sneaky devious character and has emboldened Prince Salman to take autocratic rule and crush all opposition. Don't forget Kushner's secret trip to Riyadh days before the Ritz Carlton arrests. MBS is simply acting in the way Trump wishes he could act. Trump would kill or jail all his opponents and squash the free press if he could. He'd be a madman dictator if this wasn't the US

by Anonymous

reply 41

10/12/2018

[quote] Humanitarian principle is not in his lexicon

Oh it's not just the Twit. The country will not lose any sleep over the death of an Arab.

by Anonymous

reply 42

10/12/2018

R42, indeed but anyone who follows international politics (which excludes 95% of Americans) should be alarmed and concerned by this development and the possibility of a coup/removal or unrest in Saudi Arabia.

Let the Saudi kingdom fall and be ready for 10.00 gas.

by Anonymous

reply 43

10/12/2018

R43 It won't fall. There are other royal half brothers, cousins and uncles in the inner circle waiting to kick MbS off the throne who will take his place. But it might become more conservative.

by Anonymous

reply 44

10/12/2018

Saudi-American relationship is bigger than Trump or partisan politics. American and the UK have been the patron for House of Saud since FDR. Remember Obama was against the lawsuit attempt by the 9/11 victim families against Saudi government few years ago. If both Bush and Obama can ignored the Saudi antics why would Trump be any different?

by Anonymous

reply 45

10/13/2018

But what about the Ivanka Fund and the Saudi $100 million donation???

Won't someone think of the women???

by Anonymous

reply 46

10/13/2018

Remember when Trump had to sell a yacht during one of his bankruptcies?

The guy who saved him was the Saudi prince Al-Waleed, the Citibank one, cousin of the bone-sawed Jamal Khashoggi.

by Anonymous

reply 47

10/13/2018

[quote]Let the Saudi kingdom fall and be ready for 10.00 gas.

This isn't 1973 any more, R43. The Saudi's can't afford a uniliateral oil embargo or to restrict supply. Oil prices have been low for a decade now, and all of the oil economies are already stressed. In the meantime, the US has increased domestic production to the point where we're a net oil exporter. Cash-strapped Venezuela and Russia and Iran are going to be more than happy to fill any void from the Saudi's.

In the meantime, Saudi is waging an expensive and fruitless war of aggression against Yemen that further exacerbates their need for cash.

by Anonymous

reply 48

10/13/2018

Interesting and relevant nugget:

Saudi Arabia was founded by Saud who united various tribes in 1932. Oil was discovered in 1938. He had 20+ wives and 100+ children. Of these 45 were sons. Of them 6 have followed Saud as king, one half brother after another. So obviously there is no primogeniture as in European royal families.

MbS is the son of the current king Salman who has Alzheimer's. MbS put his own mother under house arrest to become crown prince.

His power grab will move the monarchy to the next generation: that of Saud's grandchildren.

It also means he has no more right to the throne than any of his uncles or brothers or cousins.

Happily, the House of Saud is a snake pit as a family. MBS killed, kidnapped, tortured and held his own family and friends prisoner in the Ritz Carlton where he extorted money from them.* They will eventually kill him and take back what he took, or the next one in power will keep it all - for a while. This is why any relations with the House of Saud must be more distant than Trump and Kushner can handle.

by Anonymous

reply 50

10/13/2018

I think that Mohammed bin Nayef, who was Crown Prince until MBS had him ousted, could quietly amass support and remove MBS. He worked with the US for years until he was removed. But there is a large number of senior royals who are very unhappy with MBS and his proposed changes. If some of the more important tribes begin to feel that their cash streams are threatened, then they will withdraw their support as well.

The only thing holding the country together are large cash payments from the coffers of the House of Saud to all the tribes. Once King Salman dies who knows what will happen. As long as he is alive, I don't think that anyone will move against MBS.

by Anonymous

reply 51

10/13/2018

My uncle worked off and on in Saudi Arabia for years, and he said the whole country should just be nuked into glass.

by Anonymous

reply 52

10/13/2018

33 year old MBS enjoy the support of the country youth ( 70% of the population is under 30 ) and the military. Its not easy to oust him without external support.

by Anonymous

reply 53

10/14/2018

I feel like in the end they should have allowed Saddam to march in there. It would actually be a freer society because of it.

by Anonymous

reply 54

10/14/2018

Trump has too many business connections with Saudi Arabia to let America pass any sanctions. Just like with Russia, if Congress passes anything, he’ll just ignore it

by Anonymous

reply 55

10/14/2018

Is there anything even a little bit good about that family? They seem to be rabidly evil from beginning to end.

by Anonymous

reply 56

10/14/2018

The Arab monarchies don’t follow primogeniture, where the eldest son gets the throne. This, the sons have to usually fight amongst themselves to win the throne. The current guy killed his way to the throne and the next can do the same tomorrow.

by Anonymous

reply 57

10/14/2018

It’s amazing that we still lick the asses of the Saudis even after they funded. 9/11. Nearly ALL the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia but, at first, Saudis in America were exempt from having to report to the FBI/INS. It wasn’t until there was public outrage that Bush changed that rule.

by Anonymous

reply 58

10/14/2018

They are desert tribesmen who were under the Turks. As desert tribesmen with no water to bathe in they are probably cut. As once under the Ottomans, they probably have the brains of dust bunnies.

by Anonymous

reply 59

10/14/2018

It's unclear whether the under 30s support him beause people are too scared to say what they really think about anything.

by Anonymous

reply 60

10/14/2018

What have the two religious forces said? The wahabbis and the other one. Where do they stand

by Anonymous

reply 61

10/14/2018

Crown Prince is a millennial himself and his plans to ease up on the gender restrictions and give women driving rights is popular with the youth.

What isn't popular with Sauds is the war in Yemen, his war on the press, his arrests of his own royal family, and his bosom buddy relationship with Donald Trump/Jared Kushner.

by Anonymous

reply 62

10/14/2018

Iran will prevail. Arabs can never be united and are their own worst enemy.

by Anonymous

reply 63

10/14/2018

Why are Arabs such psychos?

by Anonymous

reply 64

10/14/2018

Same as Christians and Jews. They all have that our one true god thing going on. Islam takes it a step further and actually calls for killing those who don't agree. Christian Arabs are fine fine fine. Dated one.

by Anonymous

reply 65

10/14/2018

I've known some Coptic Christian Egyptians and Christian Lebanese, and they were all lovely people. Muslim Egyptians and Muslim Lebanese? Well...........that's another story.

by Anonymous

reply 66

10/14/2018

Remember when the Saudi crown prince paid for a gay wedding at the Plaza?

What was so important in March that this man ruling a country for his supposedly dottering dad HAD to be in NYC?

by Anonymous

reply 67

10/15/2018

oh, and congratulations, boys!

by Anonymous

reply 68

10/15/2018

So the Saudis went in with mops and disinfectant before the Turkish investigators arrived. A staging of a sham investigation? Why?

by Anonymous

reply 69

10/16/2018

And now the Turks have found the place freshly painted over. Egads!

by Anonymous

reply 70

10/16/2018

And the Saudi consul has fled the country:

"But, according to Turkish media, Mr al-Otaibi left Turkey on a commercial flight bound for Saudi Arabia hours before his official residence was due to be searched."

by Anonymous

reply 71

10/16/2018

The world we live in.

by Anonymous

reply 72

10/16/2018

This is straight out of a political thriller.

by Anonymous

reply 73

10/16/2018

I wonder what MbS mom is thinking. He'd put her in house arrest as she didn't think he was any good. And his dad came to the throne already with dementia. You can't make this shit up r73!

by Anonymous

reply 74

10/16/2018

[QUOTE]Remember when the Saudi crown prince paid for a gay wedding at the Plaza?

I wouldn’t be surprised if MbS made that gay couple have sex in his hotel suite while he sat in the dark and watched as a condition of payment for their wedding. You can tell he’s the type.

by Anonymous

reply 75

10/16/2018

Don't Fuck with the Saudis

by Anonymous

reply 76

10/16/2018

The Turks used to rule Saudi Arabia, which has been the kingdom it is now only for 70 or 80 years. They have no respect nor fear of them. They'll fuck with the Saudis even if the US cowers.

by Anonymous

reply 77

10/16/2018

Good, R77, that means we'll all be hearing those Turkish tapes of exactly what happened, no matter how many lies the Saudis and Trump and White House Ken and Fake Pompeo tell.

MBS is fucking busted.

by Anonymous

reply 78

10/17/2018

Political and religious dissidents, apostates and free-thinkers are killed all the time in islamic countries, sometimes hacked to death on the street, no on is ever punished. Why is this case so fucking different?

by Anonymous

reply 79

10/17/2018

He's a permanent American resident, R79. He's a journalist for the Washington Post. He's a Khashoggi.

He's not some random guy hacked to death in Saudi Arabia. Jamal Khashoggi has powerful friends. This happened in Istanbul, in Turkey. The Saudis can't go around slaughtering whomever they want, whenever they want, especially not a PERMANENT AMERICAN RESIDENT you fucking moron.

MBS will have to go. This is unconscionable and if he wasn't such a spoiled brat/fucking moron, MBS would have known that before he arranged it. He's out of control, he's a danger on the world stage, he is destabilizing the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia. MBS must be removed.

by Anonymous

reply 80

10/17/2018

[quote]He's out of control, he's a danger on the world stage, he is destabilizing the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia. MBS must be removed.

Trump sure picked a bad time to get stuck in an such an overtly icky moral quandary. To have public opinion start to sway against him even amongst conservative hard liners - right before mid-terms. Niice.

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